Fight breast cancer

London: Taking supplements of vitamin D could reduce the incidence of breast cancer by a quarter, bowel cancer by a third, say scientists. What, more, the vitamin, sometimes called "bottled sunshine", should be offered to the population as part of a public health drive, the boffins suggested.

To reach the conclusion, researchers reviewed 2,750 research studies involving vitamin D which show that taking daily supplements of the vitamin could do more for cancer prevention than a library full of lifestyle advice, reports The Independent.

The study, published in the Annals of Epidemiology, involved Professor Cedric Garland and colleagues from the University of California, San Diego. Vitamin D, made by the action of sunlight on the skin, has attracted increasing attention in recent years as its role in preventing cancer and other conditions including heart disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.